Hedley rocks it out at the 2010 We Day at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.

Photograph by: Jenelle Schneider
, PNG

The yearly happening organized by brothers Craig and Mark Kielburger has become a global phenomenon, reaching hundreds of thousands of kids worldwide.

The event is once again coming to Vancouver Oct. 18 at Rogers Arena with a number of advocates for change speaking to a crowd of close to 20,000 students and educators.

Among them, former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Martin Luther King III, the Kielburgers, the Honourable Romeo Dallaire, 10-year-old eco-blogger Hannah Alper and a host of motivational speakers, as well as musical guests including Hedley and Down With Webster.

“My mom had heard of Craig’s story before and we talked about it,” Hedley guitarist Dave Rosin said in a recent interview with The Vancouver Sun.

Kielburger started what would become Free The Children, an organization operating in 45 countries, in 1995 after reading a newspaper story about a Pakistani boy dying after being forced into child labour. Both the Pakistani boy and Kielburger were 12 years old at the time. He later called on Prime Minister Jean Chretien to take action on child labour and was later embraced by the likes of Oprah Winfrey.

Kielburger went on to receive the Order of Canada for his charitable work with his brother, having helped build over 650 schools for children all over the world.

“So when We Day was first coming to Vancouver, it was one of those things I really wanted to be involved with,” Rosin said.

Rosin and the other three members of his Juno-winning band — singer Jacob Hoggard, bassist Tommy Mac and singer Chris Crippin — have since become advocates for change and have helped raise money for a variety of causes.

“We’ve had a chance to go to Kenya and India,” Rosin said. “Last year, we set up a page on our website and raised $20,000 to build a medical facility in northern Rajasthan. We knew we wanted to make a difference and get people rallying for a cause.”

Rosin said that anyone attending We Day realizes the importance of education and fuelling your knowledge, and the crucial role kids can play when given a chance to help their community.

“We call them kids,” Rosin said, “but all these students and young adults that go to We Day are more socially aware than a lot of adults I know.”

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